Rainy Day
by Cal reflector
Summary: A series of TouyaxTomoyo vignettes that takes place throughout and postcanon. Chapter 9 is about a writing assignment handed out to Sakura's class, and what the girls choose to write about.
1. Rainy Day

Author's notes: This is my first CCS story, and I would like to dedicate it to L-chan a.k.a Mellowcandle, a wonderful writer and source of inspiration and encouragement.

Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP

Rainy Day

The staccato of raindrops upon the sheet-metal roof continued relentlessly with no sign of abating. Tomoyo's shelter, the overhang of a bread shop--closed for the day by now--was shallow, and the streams from above landing against the pavement sprayed cold droplets against uncovered legs. Her handkerchief was soaked through; too small for all the moisture which her drenched uniform had absorbed.

The streets were particularly empty today, an occasional car passing through, a few pedestrians scurrying by, eager to escape the unpleasant rain after a day at work or school and return to the dry warmth of their homes and families. A little girl, no more than five, marched by while holding onto her father's fingers. Secure in a red raincoat and boots and safe under her father's broad umbrella, she steps bravely into every puddle, eager and unafraid. Tomoyo smiled at the pink face under the hood, and receives a happy wave in return, and then father and daughter continued on their way.

Tomoyo shifted, the discomfort of wet garments and seeping cold setting in, and with a meaningful sigh, she lifted her eyes heavenward on this gray Monday afternoon, before a familiar voice turns her head.

"Daidouji."

-----

She's been in this bathroom many times before, on sleepovers and parties. She recognized Sakura's toothbrush standing in her cup—-pink, and Touya's was next to hers, except his cup was green. There were the three towels hanging on the racks, easily identifiable by size and color. The room, a bit steamy after a hot shower, smelled of flower-scented shampoo.

Tomoyo walked out dressed in a set of Sakura's pajamas, one with a plain vine and blossom pattern that Touya left for her as her clothes dried. Her cheeks flushed and the ends of her long lavender strands still dampish from the bath, she followed the sounds of the television into the living room, and found it empty.

"Finished? Have a seat." His voice called out from the kitchen. Tomoyo complied, lowering herself slowly onto the deep sofa facing the television and, after a moment's hesitation, bringing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them, her bare feet depressed into the soft cushion. A minute later, Touya emerged from the adjacent room with a steaming mug in each hand. One he offered to the young girl seated on the sofa, who reached out and carefully took the cup with both hands. "Careful, it's hot."

"Thank you…" Tomoyo replied quietly, as Touya plopped unceremoniously onto the seat beside her, closing his eyes as he stretched back comfortably, giving a low grunt of contentment in the process. "Long day?"

Touya ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, tough customers at the gas station today... and you? Called home yet?" Tomoyo nodded. "Someone coming to pick you up?"

"The driver will come when I'm ready and call her." She wrapped her fingers tightly around the hot mug in her hands. "Mom won't be coming home tonight, so..."

Touya turned to look at Tomoyo as her voice trailed off. "... I see." As he brought up his mug, he noticed that the girl sitting next to him had not touched hers. "It'll get cold if you don't drink it."

"Ah, ok." Blowing on the steaming surface of drink, which smelled richly of milk and vanilla, Tomoyo took a slow sip… and her amethyst eyes widened when the sweet warmth spread through her mouth and down into her body. Drawing the cup away from her lips, she turned to smile at the young man besides her. "It's delicious."

"Milk and honey, my recipe." The corner of his mouth curved upwards slightly. "The vanilla is something new."

Tomoyo looked wonderingly at Touya. "So not even Sakura has had this?"

"Nope."

"Well," Tomoyo took another sip of the drink, her eyelids closing in pleasure as another smile formed on her face. "I'm happy you let me be the first."

Touya stretched his legs out and crossed them, a smile of his own forming. "You're welcome."

Outside, the shower continued and the sound of rain drops, along with the television's volume set to low, created a welcome backdrop to the cozy atmosphere in the living room, where conversation become unnecessary as the two passed the time in the amiable silence of each other's company, waiting for the rest of the family to come home.

-----

When Fujitaka returned at six o'clock that evening, he noticed the strange absence of the smell of cooking. Shedding his suit jacket as he walked into the house, he saw her daughter standing prone, peering intently at something around the corner. Coming up behind her, he inquired. "Sakura, what…"

"Shhhhh!" The young girl replied, turning towards her father with a finger held up in front of her lips before returning her attention to the living room.

Following his daughter's gaze, Fujitaka eyes widened, and then softened at what he saw: On the sofa, Tomoyo's feet were drawn up beneath her and her head rested lightly against Touya's shoulder, whose right arm was draped loosely around her back, his head laid back against the sofa above her thick lavender curls. Both had their eyes closed and were breathing steadily and softly. They were covered in a checkered quilt, and Fujitaka looked down at her daughter inquiringly. Sakura spoke quietly. "I saw them when I came home from practice, and just didn't want to wake them, so... could we...?"

Fujitaka placed his hand on Sakura's head and smiled at her warmly before responding in a similarly hushed tone. "Then I guess we better stay really quiet."

So the two onlookers took their leave, and on the sofa, blissfully comfortable and unaware, Touya and Tomoyo, warmed by the blanket which covered them both and the mutual closeness of each other, dozed quietly to the soft sound of rain outside.

Fin.

* * *

Reviews and critiques would be very welcome. Thank you for reading. 


	2. A Different Point of View

This story was done as a response to a challenge prompt by Peacewish, whose story, "Scattered Blossoms," showed me that a good fic could even surpass the original in depth in addition to making Touya my favorite character in the series.

Challenge: A Different Point of View  
Title: On the job  
Setting: One year post original.  
Pairings: Not unless you squint

----

"Rin-san, it's started to rain."

"So it has." Even before my junior co-worker informed me, the sporadic sounds of raindrops tapping against the roof of the nondescript sports utility vehicle had already alerted me to the change in weather. I lifted the binoculars to my eyes and looked out the passenger side window, scanning through the misty rain at the front of the elementary school about sixty meters away where my charge was supposed to be waiting. Sure enough, there she stood under the overhang, amidst a colorful mass of shifting umbrellas and raincoats alongside her best friend, Sakura Kinomoto.

Besides me in the driver's seat, Ayano, dressed in the standard dark blue suit and skirt, leaned towards the rear seats for several umbrellas. "I will go and retrieve the young mistress now."

"Wait…" A few minutes later, I spotted the person I had been waiting for: a tall, dark-haired young man dressed in the uniform of the neighboring high school, Touya Kinomoto, Sakura's elder brother. He walked under a large dark umbrella, carrying an extra one with him, which he raised nonchalantly in response when his sister spotted him and began waving happily.

Moments later he arrived at the entrance to the school, where a small bit of confusion seems to have risen due to the fact that the extra umbrella he brought, one with yellow flower patterns, was too small for both Sakura and the young mistress. The brother appeared miffed at what I presume was the mistress' smiling suggestion that he take the small umbrella and neither of the siblings seemed enthusiastic about sharing one with each other, and so it ended up with Sakura by herself and the mistress walking with Touya.

I placed the binoculars aside and tapped my earpiece twice, bringing to attention the rest of the team that was on shift this afternoon. "Attention, survey group B, survey group C, this is group A. The mistress will be walking home with Cherry Blossom and Peach Blossom, alert the mansion to expect them in twenty-five minutes and then lay off on the tail, we'll do the follow up."

After end of communications, Ayano started up the engine just as the trio was about to turn a corner. "Rin-san, did you know that Peach Blossom was going to show up?"

I strapped on my seatbelt as I replied. "The rain was not in the forecast this morning, so neither Cherry Blossom nor the mistress remembered to bring rain gear. On days like these, he usually comes to get them."

"But why does the mistress bother waiting for him when we could just pick her up?"

"Because we are to be as little obtrusive as we can when we are guarding her, and also…" _Better to walk home chatting with friends than have us quickly whisk her back to a large, empty mansion._ "… Never mind. Keep a good distance away from them so that we're not noticed."

The rain continued to fall as we tailed the group discretely, Touya's large silhouette contrasting starkly with the mistress' smaller one. It soon became apparent that his broad shoulders made both keeping himself from bumping into the mistress, who was walking besides him, and staying entirely out of the rain difficult. He ended up getting wet.

"Quite the gentleman isn't he, Peach Blossom." said Ayano as she leaned forward upon the wheel, a small smirk appearing on her face. "And a handsome fellow too, I rather fancy types like him myself, even if he is a few years younger."

I chuckled. "Keep dreaming, girl. Even if it wasn't against protocol to date the mistress' friends, I doubt he's the type to go for women six years older than him." Ayano sighed wistfully and we continued to follow.

A few minutes later, a figure clad in bright green rain gear ran… no, hopped down the street towards the direction of the walking three, requiring me to stop my less experienced co-worker before she gunned the engine towards the possibly hostile suspect. The green-clad figure threw her arms around Touya's neck from behind and when she pulled back her hood, long blonde strands fell back to reveal the assailant's identity as a none other than Akizuki Nakuru. "Relax, that's another of the mistress' acquaintances. We call her Bouncy."

Presently, Nakuru began to rub her moistened face vigorously against Touya's, using his dry body as a towel in the process, much to his dismay and the two other girls' bemusement. I raised an eyebrow when I realized Ayano was glaring at the beautiful brunette, but said nothing before my cell-phone began vibrating in my breast pocket—the call had come. "Good afternoon, mistress. What can I do for you?"

"Good afternoon, Rin-san." I could hear the smile in her voice and the excited chatter (a cacophony of flirtful banter and annoyed grousing) in the background as my charge glanced towards our direction. "Touya needs to dry off his jacket, so I'll be having them stay for tea when we get home."

"I'll let the staff back at the mansion know."

"Thank you. You and the rest of your team can have the rest of the afternoon off."

"I understand, please enjoy yourself." I replaced the cell phone and leaned back in the leather seat, taking off my sunglasses as I did so. "We can stop following them now, Ayano; Mistress' orders."

The girl next to me began pouting as she blew up absently at the auburn bangs hanging in front of her visage. "Hmph. Bouncy certainly has got a lot of cheek, throwing herself at Peach Blossom like that. I don't see why he puts up with it."

"That's just the way they are. I actually think they have pretty good chemistry." I nearly smiled when I saw how Ayano's brows continued to furrow grumpily, and reached over to pinch her lightly on the cheek. "Come now, cheer up. There's a shop nearby which serves up a devilish chocolate mousse cake, my treat."

A loud sigh escaped the girl's lips as she restarted the engine, which rumbled back to life. "Plenty of fish in the sea is what they say, but all the good ones are either gay or already claimed…"

End.


	3. Obsession

**Author's notes:** Inspired by a prompt from L-chan on Tsukimineshrine (Live Journal): "Remember your OTP, and how it's so sweet and fluffy and pure? Now write this pairing in a way that makes it dark, disturbing, or just plain wrong." So there you have it; I now understand a little of how C.S. Lewis felt after he finished the Screwtape Letters, and why he said in interviews afterwards that inspite of the work's popularity, he would never write a sequel, because to immerse himself into the mindset of a demon was just too taxing, spiritually and emotionally; writing Tomouya as dark and twisted has had a similar effect on me, even though the story turned out very well.

All that said, please enjoy the story while keeping that in mind.

Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP. Also, the following story is unrelated to the previous two, and does not reflect the author's true interpretation of this pairing.

-----------------

It's your fault, you know that?

It started from the day we first met, when Sakura introduced you to me and you greeted me with nearly a smile, and Sakura told me afterwards in class that you rarely ever smiled, for anyone. Were you aware of the effects you had on the poor elementary school girl, who blushed over her shoulder after you walked away? Probably not, your eyes were always on other people, more important people. You invaded my bland, half-toned world that day and have consumed me ever since.

You've always been so good to me.

You never treated me like a nuisance like you would some of Sakura's other friends. You'd come pick us up at school, take me home after sleepovers on your bike, and later your motorcycle. We would go to festivals together, and knowing that you'd be there always made picking what to wear almost impossible, yet so worth it in the end.

_"It looks good on you, Daidouji."_

You never came to my house often, even after things got better between our parents. But you always came to pick up Sakura from my birthday parties, and I'd offer you cake and tease—hope—about how you really came to see me. Then one day you showed up to pick up Sakura like always, and handed me a violet box wrapped in silver ribbon.

_"Happy thirteenth birthday, Daidouji."_

I keep the hairbrush you gave me in its own case. I don't allow anyone else to touch it, and every night before I sleep I take it out and imagine that it's your fingers running through my hair.

But it wasn't enough, it was never enough; for every kindness you showed me, every smile you gave me, it only made me fall deeper and want more. Only you could fill the hole inside of me that you were creating, only you could slack this thirst, this need, and it grew worse until visits to Sakura's house became the only thing that I looked forward to; some people would call it an obsession.

Some would call it love; grasping, desperate, hungry love that you never saw, that not even Sakura saw, because I was so good at hiding myself, there was no way I could have let you know the truth.

To have you despise me is the only thing I couldn't bear in this world.

And you would have despised me, if you saw me at night, every night, after everyone had gone to sleep, with the lights turned off and images of you playing across the wall-screened projector in my room. You would have despised me if you saw me with the hem of my skirt in between my teeth, so that no one would hear me when I came thinking of you, a college student already, seven years older than me, my best friend's older brother, my distant cousin. We were like family, and I didn't want to destroy the happiness we shared.

Until I realized that we were not a family.

I realized it one day, looking through my library of videos and albums, that in spite of all the times we spent together, in spite of how accepting Sakura was, it was still the Kinomotos and Tomoyo i Daidouji /i on the side; Tomoyo the mature one, Tomoyo the bastard child, Tomoyo whose last name belonged to a father she never knew, whose mother was never around so lets have her over more often.

I began to hate the name that had always made me feel so warm whenever you said it.

And I was always the outsider, no matter how much you and Sakura and Fujitaka-san tried to make it seem otherwise; I've seen the way you look at Sakura when no one's watching, I've heard of how she talks about you when you're not around, and one day I finally realized that no one else could ever be a part of that.

There was no space for me when the two of you had each other; when you had the memories of a loving mother, the love and support of a perfect father. You would never want me; need me, when you already had everything.

But I wanted you; I wanted you to want me so I could become completely yours.

So I had to take those things away.

-----

It is surprisingly easy to plan a fatal accident. Once you learn the layout of a car and how to tamper with the right parts; when you have the resources and the insider knowledge of when father and daughter would be driving late at night on a particularly treacherous stretch of highway that overlooked the ocean from a steep cliff. It's easy when you're the victim's best friend since childhood, so what little suspicion is left never falls on you.

My tears came easily and honestly on the funeral, on that bleak wintry day, because I was truly in mourning; for Fujitaka-san, who never did me wrong, and Sakura-chan, the sister I never had. I loved them both deeply, Sakura especially.

Oh Sakura… you'll forgive me, won't you? You would understand; that I would do anything in order to be with my most precious person.

Even if the price I had to pay was you.

After I laid the long stemmed rose onto my dear friend's coffin, I dropped to my knees and wept, because it was the last present I'd ever give her, along with the funeral dress she wore.

I felt your arms around me then; you were on your knees with me, and you held me tightly like I've always dreamed of, comforting me. I turned and clung to the front of your suit and cried into your chest, and you continued to hold me, and I heard you say in a throaty voice. "It's okay. I'll take care of you, Daidouji."

And it was not long before I felt your body begin to tremble, and I heard you choke back tears as you drew me into a crushing embrace until it became hard to breathe. I didn't care, because I felt the wetness on your cheeks pressed against mine, the shaking from your body as the tears came, and your whispered into my ear in a cracked and broken voice. "You're all I've got left. Don't ever leave me, _Tomoyo_, don't you ever leave me."

_"Whose that young lady with Touya-kun?"_

_"That's Daidouji-san, Professor Kinomoto's daughter's cousin. I heard they were like sisters."_

_"The poor girl, she must be heartbroken …"_

_"Yes, terrible… but she and Touya-kun will be there for each other through these trying times."_

_"That would be best."_

Do you hear that, Touya? Do you hear them giving us their blessings?

I will never leave you Touya; I'll never let you go. It's just the two of us of now, like it was meant to be.

We'll be happy from now on.


	4. Family Planning

**Author's Notes: **A oneshot set years in the future; less anyone become confused, like the previous chapter, this story is discontinuous from all the other chapters. Though the original plan was to arrange the stories in chronological order as they were produced... but then, who ever sticks with the plan? Please enjoy, and be warned; it's quite teeth-rotting.

Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP.

_From the married life of Touya and Tomoyo_

_------- _

He awakened to an unusually bright morning and instinctively reached over to his right, only to discover that his wife's side of the futon was empty. Rubbing heavy-lidded eyes with the ball of his hand, Touya remembered that it was Saturday, when she would always wake before he did to make breakfast and let him sleep in; a reversal of their weekday patterns due to his long work commutes. He eyed the depression in the pillow that Tomoyo's head had created. A far steadier sleeper than he, she was not prone to shifting around in her dreams, nor was she as clingy as he sometimes became at night. Somehow, they managed to find a way to accommodate each others so that each had their comfort and peace.

Touya, mind near full consciousness but still reluctant to wake after the delicious respite, lowered himself back into bed. Several seconds later, he reached for Tomoyo's pillow and switched it with his own. The sweet familiar scent that filled his senses nearly lured him back to sleep, but he merely closed his eyes and indulged himself in the peaceful feeling, like crawling into his parents' bed as a boy and nestling safely in between.

When he had washed and came downstairs, he found Tomoyo putting the finishing touch on their breakfast: Grilled fish, omelet rolls, miso soup, chilled tofu, seaweed, fluffy white rice, pickled vegetables, and a salad with tomato and cucumbers picked from their tiny garden behind the house. It was a proper Japanese breakfast, a feast compared to the toast and coffee he made for himself from Monday to Friday. Inhaling the atmosphere deeply, he quietly approached his wife from behind and pecked her on the cheek as he slipped his arms around her waist. "Good morning, honey."

And she smiled, knowing he was there the whole time. "Good morning. Help me set the dishes?"

After she undid and hung up her apron, they sat down at the small dining table for two. She served the rice and he poured the tea, the window left open to allow a breeze from a perfect Saturday morning outside. Tomoyo waited until he took the first bite. "Good?"

He could not adore her enough. "Perfect."

A few minutes into their meal, Touya picked up the remote control and turned on the television, the volume preset low but audible in the cozy confines of the kitchen. The morning news was on, and a young couple in their late twenties was the subject of an interview, one of those random local news bits covering the crushing weekend crowds.

"That's right, we've been happily married for one full year now!" The husband, who had his hair dyed brown with streaks of yellow, wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"And now we're even more in love than when we first met!" As the overly fashionable couple kissed, Touya winced inwardly at the public display. Both of them discreet personalities, he and Tomoyo at most held hands when they were out on busy streets, and the mere thought of kissing—or swallowing, as was the more appropriate description of the case at hand—on television seemed… weird to him.

At home and in private was a different matter altogether.

The young reporter seemed far more at ease faced with such behavior, or, as Touya keenly observed, was at least practiced at concealing his dismay. "Now that you've been together for one year, what are your plans for the immediate future?"

"Well… I was thinking it was about time we got around to making a baby."

"Oh darling, announcing in front of all these people!" It was hard to tell whether a blush emerged underneath all the makeup, but it was evident that the woman was not displeased as she threw her arms around her mate, who laughed heartily in response. Soon the screen switched back to the anchor, and the news moved onto recaps of the previous evening's reports. Touya's face however remained fixed on the television; or more accurately, Touya's face remained turned away from Tomoyo's.

They had just celebrated their own first anniversary a month ago.

The coincidence, really no coincidence at all, would not have created such an awkward silence at the table had Touya not been contemplating the very same matter which his television counterpart had spouted out mere seconds ago. He'd considered it for weeks, and he knew she knew he was considering it, and had waited ever since their anniversary for the right moment to bring the issue up.

The right moment was supposed to be this morning at breakfast.

Touya found himself in a predicament; his initiative had been usurped, the mood was awkward, tension was high. To broach such a delicate issue now after the gaudy display on television could only come across as a joke, and he was certainly not in the mood for joking, although circumstance and a stranger with ugly hair might very well have taken that choice from him.

But what was Tomoyo's reaction to all this? Trying and failing to conceal the embarrassment evident in his face, he slowly turned and cast a glance across the table towards her. A piece of cucumber between her chopsticks remained suspended between her bowl and her lips, which remained slightly parted as she appeared far away in thought. When she felt his gaze on her and their eyes met, the flair of color in her cheeks came close to resembling that of the pink sweater she wore.

_Uh oh._

What had merely been the most important proposal he would ever make in life (except for _the _proposal he made to her)—starting a family—had just become even more difficult. It was as though time had been reset to more than a year ago, when they were just beginning to realize the extent of their feelings for one another. A time when the temperature went up as soon as their eyes met, a time when Touya lost his cool and Tomoyo's tongue became inexplicably tied as soon as they found themselves alone like they were now.

So Touya Kinomoto, flustered and faced with no comfortable way out of the present situation, did the only thing he could: He reached for another slice of tomato.

And as he extended his arms across the table, his chopsticks came into contact with hers.

A long moment later, each withdrew their chopsticks without a word, and though he could not have imagined Tomoyo becoming even redder than she already was, he was sure that he was not much better himself as the two studied their rice bowls or anything else on the table besides each others' burning faces. And once again, as they increasingly realized with each incident of its kind, they found themselves too perceptive of each other's way of thinking for their own good.

_Three Months Later_

She was sitting before her dresser when she heard him. After checking herself in the mirror one last time, she quickly descended the stairs and caught him just as he stepped through the doorway, his briefcase slung over one shoulder. "I'm home."

"Welcome back!" Tomoyo just managed to keep herself from flying into her husband as she threw her arms around him, paying little concern to the nicer dress she had put on for him.

"Well at least someone is happy to see me." Touya lowered his head to kiss her on the cheek as his hands went to her side, pulling back a second later as he pressed the tip of his nose against her collar. "Is that… perfume I smell?"

Giggly slightly from the ticklish effect, she only smiled sweetly in return as she undid his tie, causing Touya to lift an eyebrow as she took his hand and led him inside. "Come on, dinner is ready."

His eyes widened when he saw white linen covering their small dining table, at the center of which was a lit candle and a bowl of fresh flowers. Tomoyo produced a bottle of wine and two glasses from the cupboards, and he could no longer suppress his curiosity. "Wow… What are we celebrating?"

"Why don't you take a guess?"

"Alright, umm… The brat got in an accident?"

She laughed as she pulled on a pair of mittens and reached into the oven, filling the room with the delicious aroma of his favorite meal. "Nope, would you bring the salad out of the refrigerator?"

"Darn, okay… You won that raffle at the supermarket for tickets to Hawaii?"

"Even better."

"Better than Hawaii? I don't know… how about a hint?" Touya grinned at his wife next to him, who appeared to be enjoying herself even more than usual.

"What day is today?"

"Sunday? Oh wait, you mean that, right? Bu that has nothing to do with us, it's…" Touya never finished the sentence as the significance of the date caught up with him. Putting down the basket of bread, he gently but firmly put his hands over his wife's shoulders, his voice lowered to a near inaudible tone that trembled with anticipation. "You tell me right now, Tomoyo."

But the joy on her face had already given it away, even before she drew herself on tiptoe to kiss him and reply in a smiling whisper.

"Happy Father's Day, Touya."

_ End _


	5. Unclean Thoughts

**Author's Notes:** A tiny little contribution, probably not even enough to qualify as an update. Written during the course of a conversation with Mellowcandle on what might have been, had Sonomi been the one who fell out of the tree and been caught by Fujitaka, thus altering the course of CCS history. I apologize for the naughty content beforehand; it just managed to find its own way inside.

**Alternate History**

"You know, we could have been siblings."

She suppressed a giggle as Touya wrinkle his nose, his head in her lap after they finished the picnic lunch she prepared. "What do you mean?"

"It's simple. Instead of letting Aunt Nadesico, who hasn't a single bone for sports in her body, climb that tree, what if mother had gone instead? Your dad would've caught my mother falling out of the sky, they would've gotten married, and here we'd be."

Touya hummed when Tomoyo began massaging his scalp."My intuition tells me that the chances of them getting along, much less getting married, would have been very, very small."

"It might not have been love at first sight, but in time I think they would have hit it off; look at them now. A good jump start like that would've been all they needed."

Opening his eyes, Touya rolled over until he was looking up at his fiancée."And what about Sakura? Who would be the star of your Indy films if she wasn't around?"

"You of course; I'd be one of those younger sisters who hero-worshipped her big brother."

He chuckled lightly before rolling back to his side."I still don't like the idea of having you as a sister."

Disappointment was evident in her tone."Why not?"

"Because… I wouldn't be able to this if I were your brother." And saying so, he rolled up the frilly hem of her skirt just enough to reveal her knees, which he began to massage with one hand.

"To… Touya!"She blushed furiously and looked around quickly.

"And I wouldn't be able to do this if I were your brother."Shifting the hem up further, he planted a line of kisses from the sensitive spot beneath her knee up along her thighs, nipping gently with his teeth every now and then.

"Meanie."Her breathing became shallow, and she stopped trying to resist as her body turned to jelly.

"Or…" His hand snaked north and underneath."Maybe I would have anyways."

With considerable effort, she managed a teasing smile."You're a very bad man, Touya Kinomoto."

He smirked as his fingers went to work. "That's why you love me."


	6. The Gift That Keeps on Giving

**The Gift that Keeps on Giving**

Touya Kinomoto lifted his eyes from his desk by the window and looked out into the plaza below where a thin layer of frost covered the earth and still bare trees. It was that time of year between late winter and spring's debut, when temperatures were still low enough to snow, as it did last night. Rolling back the sleeve of his sweater—wool knit blue-green checkers and one size too large—he turned back to the task before him, red pen commenting and circling through papers not his own, two stacks totaling three inches to his left and right. Since he began an hour ago, he reckoned he had gone through a little over an inch. When he heard the light knock, he was thankful for the break.

"Come in." When he saw who came through the door, the thankfulness he felt a moment ago multiplied three fold. "Hello, I thought we weren't supposed to meet until later."

The girl with amethyst hair left her book bag on the floor and threw her arms around his neck. After she had settled into her designated spot, Tomoyo Daidouji leaned back a bit so she could look at him. "Am I in your way?"

Touya held up his hands as he grinned at his girlfriend who was seated fully across his lap to the protest of his aging swivel chair and preventing any kind of work from getting done. "I'm not complaining."

She smiled and leaned in once more, placing her cheek against the soft fabric hanging off his shoulder and produced a drawn-out sound of pleasure. "I knew it was a good idea to make this a bit roomy."

"A bit? You should hear what my colleagues had to say, something about amateur and expecting obesity."

Both of them knew that said colleagues couldn't be further from the truth, especially on the first count. "As long as you know it was by design and that they're just jealous."

"They would be, if I ever introduced you to them."

"So why don't you?"

"Don't want to stir up animosity in the workplace, but mainly because I want to keep you to myself." Nor did he wish the whole world to know—yet—that he was dating her little sister's best friend, a girl—_young woman_—seven years his junior and still in high school, though that would change in a few months. "How are the entrance exam preparations going? Can I expect to see you at one of my sections when April comes around, Miss Daidouji?"

The superior tone he employed was not lost upon her. "Don't you worry about me mister; any school you can get into, I can do better. Although, considering that you're already in the best university this country has to offer, I seem to have no choice but to go abroad in order to prove my point."

He had not thought of the possibility that she might leave Japan, though Aunt Sonomi brought it up a few times and the benefits associated with such a move. "Where would you go?"

She tilted her head and appeared to seriously consider. "England seems nice, I think mother would approve. I like the history, the music, plus there's Mizuki sensei and Eriol…"

"No."

A moment of uncomfortable silence followed, his large hands linked around the small of her back and her slender ones resting on his shoulders. When she spoke again, it was in a quiet measured tone. "Why not?"

_Because there's un-dealt with baggage there, because I don't like the little bastard, because I've gotten used to having you around._ "… The foods bad and the weather sucks."

He knows there's no hiding from her; her ability to look under his masks and see through his attempts at self deception was one of the reasons why he was drawn to her in the first place. Over time, he's also learned to count on that, as he was now; that she would see and understand how he truly felt, even though to the ordinary bystander he appeared merely as his stoic and secure self.

Her eyes—large, deep, always gentle and disarming, even in tense moments like these—held his for a long time until she raised her hands to cup his cheek and gave him the smile that he bathed in like the sun. "Don't worry, I won't leave you." Her thumbs drew slow circles beneath his eyes as she continued. "There's actually a draught going on there right now, but you're right about the food."

A simple reassurance, one his first love never gave him, too careful to even let it slip in casual dialogue or hushed murmurs… but it was unfair to compare the one sitting in his lap now to the one that belonged in the past, nor did it give Tomoyo the credit she deserved, so instead he unbuttoned her thick winter uniform jacket, enjoying the pretty flush on her face as he snaked his hands underneath, coming into contact with the thin fabric of her blouse and the inviting warmth that emanated from below.

She was at his mercy in no time, the two of them rocking and nearly toppling over as he tickled her mercilessly, ending the assault only when he remembered where they were, and that those passing in the hallway outside, including professors and others who mattered, might hear the noise they were making. Resting against his chest as she caught her breath, there was laughter and a teasing reprimand in her voice when she finally made her reply. "Very mature; I always knew you were a little boy inside."

"Says the little girl who started it." He felt her giggle at his mock pouting; it felt nice. "So, aside from providing the excuse for a welcome break and scaring me into thinking the world was coming to an end…" He covered her hand with his let her know the comment wasn't meant just to be witty. "What urgent business made my sunshine come find me here, in this dreariest of places?"

She beamed at him. Getting up to his slight chagrin, she hung up the jacket that he had unbuttoned halfway and came back with her book bag, from which she withdrew a small gift-wrapped box not much larger than his thumb and placed it on his desk. "Happy Valentine's day."

Thinking to himself that the size was rather small for a chocolate, his eyes widened when he unwrapped the package. "Lipstick?"

Tomoyo shook her head; he waited for an explanation, she extended her hand, and when he placed the cosmetic in her palm she removed the silver cap to reveal a pointed stub of dark maroon brown that smelled of cocoa and raspberry, which answered one question but not another. "You're not really expecting me to wear that, are you?"

"As fun as that would be to get on tape, no. See, this is how you use it. First you moisten the tip…" The back of his throat went dry when she laved the pointed surface with her tongue. "Then you apply a generous coat…" When she was finished, she placed the lipstick aside, a clear twinkle in her eye that was three parts shy and seven parts anticipation.

"Bon Appétit, Touya."

Rather than devouring the treat like the baser part of his instinct demanded, he started slowly, transferring some of the taste to his own lips after the initial meet and licked clean and repeated. It wasn't long before he decided this method was too slow, and took to drawing flavor from her proffered lips directly, alternating licks and gentle nips until all the extra flavor was gone except that which went back to her mouth in the increasingly heated exchange. When they parted, her eyes were heavy lidded and her face was red; drunk, as it were, with the too pleasant sensations that came from the giving that was also receiving. "So, did you like it?"

The tremble in her quiet voice fueled his appetite for her further, as did the speeding pulse in her wrist. "I think… I'll have another bite."

She picked up the lipstick, which he realized was merely one half of his gift, and prepared herself once more. "Have as many as you like."

--------

Forty five minutes later the lipstick was all used up, but the gift kept on giving, and Tomoyo learned that her boyfriend wasn't nearly as objectionable to sweet things as he made himself out to be, particularly when said sweet things were presented properly. When her head managed to cool enough to form speech again, she whispered close into his ear. "Does this mean I can look forward to something nice on White Day?"

She heard him mumble something like 'yes' before his mouth covered hers once more, giving her a taste of what was to come one month later.

_End_


	7. Like Mother like Daughter

"What are your intentions towards my mother, sensei?"

A little drip of Chardonnay managed to escape Sonomi's lips despite her best efforts to contain her choking reaction. Painfully conscious of her dinner date's wide-eyed stare, the toy executive wiped away the trail with less than perfect table etiquette then thrust herself towards and hissed at her daughter. "Tomoyo! What are you asking?"

Touya watched nervously as the candle stand in the middle of the table for four wobbled from his aunt's gesture, and since he hoped to call her mother-in-law one day, Touya joined in on her behalf. "Maybe this isn't the best topic..."

"Shush, Touya. I'm asking your father a question." The young man felt the girl squeeze his hand under the table, and the two concerned fell silent as the conversation turned into a smiling contest between Fujitaka and his niece, by far the only person on the planet who could match him in the art. "I've come to the knowledge that mother has been inviting you over on a more frequent basis, especially when I'm not home. It started six months ago, when Touya took Sakura and I on a ski trip, and most recently two weeks ago when she asked for your help on tax filings, which is curious, because mother pays others to do her taxes. Now, it isn't hard to tell that you two are interested in each other, but I think it is fair for me to ask what your intentions are with her."

"Of course you're right, Tomoyo-chan. I suppose I should have told you sooner." Sonomi watched in disbelief as the professor, acting cool as a pickle, sliced into the butter with his silver and proceeded to spread it over his dinner roll. "I love your mother deeokt. With her, I find myself capable of feeling for another what I thought was no longer possible, and even though it's only been six months, I amfairly certain that this is a relationship I want to commit to for the rest of my life... if it's alright with her, that is."

And with that, Fujitaka rose from his seat, got down on his knee and in front of the entire restaurant presented a diamond ring to Sonomi, who remained in a state of petrification, speechless and burning like a Christmas light from the sudden turn of events. "... This is a setup, a conspiracy."

"Now, dear..."

"I knew you were up to no good, that's why I thought a double date would be a good idea to keep you from trying anything." She covered her face and closed her eyes, unable to cope with reality. "But to think that my own daughter would betray me like this, I just..."

"So is that a yes?"

Moisture in the corner of her eyes, Sonomi bit her lip and took the ring from her smiling date with the most grudging expression of acceptance possible. "... I'm never going to forgive you for this, Fujitaka."

Then she kissed him, and as the sound of applause rose the weight that had been on Touya's chest receded.

---------

"Did you plan that with my father?"

He drove her back to the mansion, since their parents had after dinner plans elsewhere that would most likely keep them out late. She stood with him in front her door and looked up innocently. "I didn't know he had a ring ready in his pocket, if that's what you mean."

"Then why?"

"To help them along, else mother would never admit to herself what is so glaringly obvious to us."

"You'd make a terrifying businesswoman, Tomoyo Daidouji."

"Business is driven by profit and incentive, Touya Kinomoto, and I expect suitable reward for the services I render."

She winked to clarify her intentions, and was satisfied when he bent down to press his lips against hers. "That enough to cover the bill?"

She sighed happily as she pressed herself against his chest. "Pleasure doing business with you as always."

* * *

Author's Notes: With a little grownup love thrown in. Another drabble written for Mellowcandle, who provided the prompt, "What are your intentions towards my mother, Sensei?" Another one hundred or so of these and I'll think my stories will begin to add up to the greatness that was Shadows. Thanks for reading, folks. 


	8. First and Last

First and Last

In the minutes before dawn, Touya lay in bed with his eyes lingering on the ceiling tiles, wide awake and attuned senses filled with the sweet scent, warm skin, and soft sound of breathing from the girl nestled against his side. He didn't move a muscle, didn't want to disturb her rest because he knew how tired she must be. He felt full from watching her near-smile in her sleep and played with the curly ends of her lavender tresses, and reliving the events leading up to last night.

_They had been dating quietly for three years, happy despite the requirement to remain discreet and pretend to be just old friends in front of other people, even their own family; especially their family. But they were happy, and promised each other to wait till she was old enough, until their families were ready to accept that they were together. He never pressured her and she never made it difficult for him, except by her very presence which he found painfully tempting. Their patience was rewarded, Fujitaka and Sonomi understood; their feud did not pass on to the next generation._

_It was towards the end of her first year in university. Hey left work early and joined her and her friends to celebrate the last finals. They went their own way afterwards, driving everywhere, stayed out late and finally ended up in the parking lot of a seaside inn, where they sat in silence as each made up their minds. He didn't plan it, but then there are no accidents in life, as someone said to him before._

_She spoke first. "Kind of dangerous driving tired, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Then we should check in."_

_"Yeah, we should."_

_It was not yet the weekend, there were no other guests. She signed at the front counter and he followed her with his hand in hers; her hands were never clammy but were now. Self-control expired just before they reached their door, in the empty hallway, as he crushed her into his body and she did her best to do the same, desperate to erase the polite distance they'd kept for everyone's sake for the past three years. It was past time for talking, past time for restraint; they'd waited so long, nobody would begrudge them this._

_But he still doubted; his fingers dipping just beneath the fringe of her shirt, he asked._

_"Are you sure?"_

_She looked ravishing, her back against the door and her legs trembling on tiptoes as he supported her. She leaned close to bite his ear. "Yes, yes."_

He still had doubts, not about them, but about himself. He was her first, but she was not his, and the guilt made him triple his effort to be gentle, to lessen the pain, to drown her in pleasure so sweet she found it nearly unbearable. He was successful, and then he remembered the teacher who taught him how to do it, and his doubts returned.

"Not the kind of face a girl wants to wake up and see first thing the morning after."

She flicked the tip of his nose before raising herself and kissing him on the lips. He smiled apologetically, but did not encourage further intimacy. "Morning, beautiful."

"Mmm… morning." She laid her cheek against his bare chest and inhaled deeply, the tickling sensation giving him second thoughts. "What's on your mind?"

She's quick, even at 5 AM. She knows about his time with Yukito, and he's told her about Kaho, and it has never been an issue for them, until now. There was really no easy way, but lying to Tomoyo was inconceivable, which left honesty. "… This wasn't my first time."

"Is that what's bothering you?"

He expected her to be understanding, but her lightness caught him off guard; the thought that she didn't mind at all that he had slept with others made him uneasy and confused. He frowned, she noticed.

"It's not that I don't mind." She splayed her fingers over his chest, covering his heart. "But knowing what matters from now on is what makes me happy."

"And what is that?"

"That I will be your last."

The conviction in her words startled him; her faith in him convinced him. He watched her in amazement as she smiled like a million dollars and stroked the side of his face with infinite tenderness. "Am I right?"

"Yes." He placed his arms around her and drew her in for a kiss, then kissed her again. "Yes, you are."

* * *

Author's Notes: Written from the prompts "Minutes before dawn" or "Are you sure?" I used both. Inspired by the quote that goes something like. "Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance." That's the original quote from Oscar Wilde, the popular American version is cruder and refers to sex, I believe. 


	9. In the Eyes of the Beholder

Author's Notes: Another story written for the Tsukimineshrine prompts over at Live Journal.

* * *

"I want you to write a two page essay about an object you find beautiful and why it is so. The object can be anything, a song, a person, a work of art..."

When the teacher announced the assignment, the class responded with a chorus of giggles and groans. They were sixth graders, were they not? The assignment, though fun, seemed altogether too elementary and on par with "What we wish to be when we grow up."

At noon recess, the girls gathered at their spot on the lawn and over lunch talked about their choices for the writing assignment.

"I should like to write about the original Grimm's Fairy Tales," said Naoko with hands clasped tight and a gleam in her eye. "The blend of fantasy, romance, and supernatural horror makes it one of the most influential literary masterpieces of all time."

Tomoyo chuckled as her best friend smiled nervously. Meiling went next. "I don't like the assignment, but since I have no choice I suppose I'll write about the mirror."

Sakura blinked. "The mirror? How is that beautiful?"

"Not the mirror itself, but the reflection I see every time I stand before it, which is undoubtedly the fairest of them all."

The group laughed at the bold suggestion which could only come from the martial artist, and for a short while several girls considered adopting the mirror as their subject. Sakura was the next to go, pondering as she gazed at the bento her father made. "I think I'll write about my mother."

And that, Tomoyo thought, was just like Sakura. The circle of friends nodded in agreement; Nadesico's albums, compiled from her various modeling jobs, were the object of admiration amongst the girls. The card captor then turned to the girl who had sat quietly beside her the entire time. "How about you, Tomoyo-chan?."

Tomoyo played with the straw in her juice box as she appeared to consider.

_"Well, I was thinking of writing about Touya-san."_

The girl with lavender locks did not speak her thoughts out loud, for that would have undoubtedly thrown Sakura-chan into eye-swirling confusion, and Tomoyo was not sure she'd be able to make her best friend understand why she thought her mean oniichan was beautiful.

It was plain to all that Touya was an exceptionally handsome young man—every one of Sakura's friends had at some point expressed their longing to have a similarly wonderful older brother. Tomoyo knew well his most attractive features from all the photos she took over the years; his large hands, fine chin, and perfect ears. But what drew her attention most were traits that lay beneath the surface—his rich range of emotion and the subtle expressions he displayed them through. He was cool by default and sparing with his affection. He was difficult to befriend, but to his few friends he was most thoughtful and considerate. He wore the same unsmiling expression ninety percent of the time and as time went on Tomoyo realized that his smiles became rarer and rarer. She knew he kept most of his thoughts to himself—a quality they shared—and gradually learned to tell when he was bored, annoyed, or brooding when all others saw was the same old look.

He was not like her sister; whereas Sakura was spring and sunshine, Touya's appeal was complex. His warmth was like that of short winter days; rare and all the more welcome because of it. His personality was not dazzling like her sister's, but comforting like the glow of a star-lit night.

"Since you asked… I think I shall write about you, Sakura-chan."

And so, as she smiled at the card captor's expected reaction, Tomoyo decided to keep the secret of Touya's beauty to herself a little longer, partly because the others would not have understood, partly because of the privilege she felt as one who possessed this unique appreciation for him.


	10. Snowflakes

On the afternoon before New Year's Eve, the streets of Tomoeda's downtown commercial district bustled with pedestrians braving the mid-winter chill for last minute shopping. A girl with straight long hair emerged from a department store with a tall young man, the latter's arms filled with bags containing decorations, confectionaries, and other party essentials. "Thank you for coming with me. I'm sorry it turned out to be more than just a few things."

Touya Kinomoto, in his fourth year at university and home for the holidays, shifted his balance of the load. "Not a problem; I can hardly blame you for all the things that Sakura forgets. If I did… well, let's just leave it at that. "

Tomoyo smiled as they waited for the signal at a crosswalk. "It's true she can be a bit forgetful at times, but that is part of what makes her cute, wouldn't you agree?"

"For the first couple of years maybe, but after fourteen it just becomes annoying."

She raised her hand to her mouth in mock dismay. "Surely you don't mean that."

He shrugged and grinned. "Who knows, but people often tell me that I'm the oldest twenty year old they've ever met; picking up after a kaijuu for so long might have some thing to do with that."

She looked as if to ponder the statement as they crossed the street and walked away from the crowded areas and into quieter neighborhoods. "Look on the bright side, lots of girls like mature men."

"Which would work out only if said men liked younger girls…" He caught the rising curve in the corner of her lips and understood what she was getting at, stifling a groan. "C'mon, my mom and dad were an exception."

"Who said I was referring to your parents?"

"Who were you referring to then?"

And for a second, he imagined that the girl's smile—which he considered her most charming feature amongst many others—dimmed barely perceptibly.

They took a small detour to Penguin Park, where they bought drinks from a cluster of vending machines; dark coffee for him and lemon tea for her. As they sipped from their cans, a breeze shook free small clumps of snow from the trees above. Reaching across the bench, he brushed off some that had landed on her shoulders.

"Thank you."

He rewound the caramel comforter around his neck and leaned back against his seat. "Our families are visiting the shrine together tomorrow. Decided on your altar requests yet?"

She weaved her fingers together the can. "I've given it some thought, but I don't know if I can commit to it."

Touya finished his drink and dropped his can into a dustbin nearby. "Sounds serious, what are you hoping for?"

She giggled. "If I tell you it won't come true."

"Surely after all these years you can trust me to keep a… look out!"

She heard the sound of wood snapping and a sudden rush as he pulled her into his arms just before a small avalanche descended on them; the weight of the accumulated snow had finally bent some branches past their breaking point. When she opened her eyes again, she found that they were covered in what seemed like two feet of snow, the bulk of which fell on him as he wrapped her in a secure embrace, his head resting above hers. It was clearly meant to be a protective gesture, and yet…

"Are you alright, Daidouji?"

A moment's daze later she nodded and he exhaled a sigh of relief. After checking that their purchases had been spared the brunt of the collapse, he noticed how pale her complexion had turned. "You're freezing."

Before she could comprehend what was happening, he had taken her hands between his own and began rubbing them; breathing warm air onto her fingers from time to time, a warm tickling sensation that made her stomach do all sorts of somersaults. After a while, the color returned to her digits—which appeared petite next to his—and Touya looked up to see that her cheeks had turned rosier as well. "Better now?"

He was surprised when she raised one hand towards him, the tips of her fingers stopping mere centimeters from his cheek before she touched him, the hesitancy of her gesture and the range of emotions in her amethyst eyes causing his own to widen more than usual.

"Tomoyo…?"

She was rarely ever at a loss for words; all her life, she was able to reason her way past her own emotions with her remarkable maturity and unselfishness, but there was no rationalizing—no euphemizing—the feelings that she felt for the man in front of her now as her hand caressed the warmth of his face.

"Touya, I…"

_The End_

* * *

Author's Notes: I wrote this for L-Chan some months ago after becoming frustrated by her lack of updates on a certain story (I'm still not over it seven years later). The half-assed ending had the desired effect, but she still won't update it seems.


End file.
